The Antarctic Sound is a body of water about long and from wide, separating the

Joinville Island group Joinville Island group is a group of antarctic islands, lying off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which Joinville Island group is separated by the Antarctic Sound. Joinville Island, located at , is the largest island of the ...

from the northeast end of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. The sound was named by the

Swedish Antarctic Expedition The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Background Otto Nordensk ...

under

Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family th ...

for the expedition ship ''

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

'' which in 1902, under the command of

Carl Anton Larsen Carl Anton Larsen (7 August 1860 – 8 December 1924) was a Norwegian-born whaler and Antarctic explorer who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils for which ...

, was the first vessel to navigate it. Since 1998

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

have been visiting the area.

Geography

Antarctic Sound-2016-Joinville Island-Ice Shelf

The Antarctic Sound is the stretch of water that separates

Trinity Peninsula Trinity Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends northeastward for about 130 km (80 mi) to Cape Dubouzet from an imaginary line connecting Cape Kater on the north-west coast and Cape Longing on the sou ...

, the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, from the

which consists of

D'Urville Island D'Urville Island (), Māori language, Māori name ' ('red heavens look to the south'), is an island in the Marlborough Sounds along the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the France, French List of explorers, ...

Joinville Island Joinville Island is the largest island of the Joinville Island group, about long in an east-west direction and wide, lying off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by the Antarctic Sound. Joinville Isla ...

Dundee Island Dundee Island is an ice-covered island lying east of the northeastern tip of Antarctic Peninsula and south of Joinville Island. It is named after the city of Dundee in Scotland. The Petrel Base is a scientific station in Antarctica belonging t ...

and the smaller

Bransfield Island Bransfield Island is an island nearly long, lying southwest of D'Urville Island off the northeast end of the Antarctic Peninsula. The name "Point Bransfield", after Edward Bransfield, Master, Royal Navy, was given in 1842 by a British expediti ...

. The northern limit of the sound, where it joins the

Bransfield Strait Bransfield Strait or Fleet Sea ( es, Estrecho de Bransfield, Mar de la Flota) is a body of water about wide extending for in a general northeast – southwest direction between the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. History ...

, is the line connecting Cape Dubouzet (63°16'S, 57°03'W) on Trinity Peninsula with Turnbull Point (63°02'S, 56°36'W) on D'Urville Island. The southern limit is the line connecting Cape Scrymgeour on

Andersson Island Andersson Island is a long and wide volcanic island of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group, located at the eastern end of the Tabarin Peninsula, Antarctica. The island was originally named Uruguay Island by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1 ...

(63°35'S, 56°26'W) with Cape Purvis on Dundee Island (63°35'S, 55°58'W). Close to the north of Andersson Island lies the smaller Jonassen Island, the two being separated by the Yalour Strait which joins the Antarctic Sound to the

Erebus and Terror Gulf Erebus and Terror Gulf is a gulf on the southeast side of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, bordered on the northeast by the Joinville Island group and on the southwest by the James Ross Island group. It was named for HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS '' ...

part of the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...

. The sound is long and from wide. The

Tabarin Peninsula Tabarin Peninsula () is a peninsula 15 nautical miles (28 km) long and 5 to 12 nautical miles (22 km) wide, lying south of the trough between Hope Bay and Duse Bay and forming the east extremity of Trinity Peninsula in the Antarctic Pe ...

forms the southwestern coast of the Antarctic Sound and contains several bays, the main ones being

Hope Bay Hope Bay (Spanish: ''Bahía Esperanza'') on Trinity Peninsula, is long and wide, indenting the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and opening on Antarctic Sound. It is the site of the Argentinian Antarctic settlement Esperanza Base, established i ...

and Trepassey Bay. Cube Rock lies in the southern entrance southeast of Cape Scrymgeour.

History

The Antarctic Sound was first navigated by the vessel ''

'' belonging to the

of 1902, captained by

. Frequently clogged by pack ice, particularly tabular icebergs broken from the

Larsen Ice Shelf The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to Smith Peninsula. It is named after Captain Carl Anton Larsen, the master of the No ...

, it is deceptive and difficult to traverse, and in the year after its first navigation, the same vessel was trapped and crushed by the ice, the ship's crew spending the winter at

. Another vessel trying to navigate the sound en route for

Snow Hill Island Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped island, long and wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the north-east by Admiralty Sound and from Seymour Island to the north b ...

in 1920, failed to get through and could not even reach Hope Bay, and "

Operation Tabarin Operation Tabarin was the code name for a secret British expedition to the Antarctic during World War Two, operational 1943–46. Conducted by the Admiralty on behalf of the Colonial Office, its primary objective was to strengthen British claims t ...

" in 1944 was beset by similar problems. Hope Bay was at one time the site of a British base, and there is now a permanently manned Argentinian research station there called

Esperanza Base ("Permanence, an act of sacrifice") , pushpin_map = Antarctica , pushpin_map_alt = Location of Esperanza Base in Antarctica , pushpin_map_caption = Location of Esperanza Base in Antarctica , pushpin_mapsize ...

Fauna

Hope Bay has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. Birds that breed here include the

gentoo penguin The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ear ...

brown skua The brown skua (''Stercorarius antarcticus''), also known as the Antarctic skua, subantarctic skua, southern great skua, southern skua, or hākoakoa (Māori), is a large seabird that breeds in the subantarctic and Antarctic zones and moves furthe ...

Antarctic tern The Antarctic tern (''Sterna vittata'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fis ...

Wilson's storm petrel Wilson's storm petrel (''Oceanites oceanicus''), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly ...

kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, part ...

and

snowy sheathbill The snowy sheathbill (''Chionis albus''), also known as the greater sheathbill, pale-faced sheathbill, and paddy, is one of two species of sheathbill. It is usually found on the ground. It is the only land bird native to the Antarctic continent. ...

. It also houses one of the largest breeding colonies of

Adélie penguin The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor p ...

in Antarctica. At Trepassey Bay, gentoo and

s also breed, as well as Cape petrels,

snow petrel The snow petrel (''Pagodroma nivea'') is the only member of the genus ''Pagodroma.'' It is one of only three birds that has been seen at the Geographic South Pole, along with the Antarctic petrel and the south polar skua, which have the most so ...

skua The skuas are a group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus ''Stercorarius'', the only genus in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas, the long-tailed skua, the Arctic skua, and the pomarine skua are called ...

s and

Weddell seal The Weddell seal (''Leptonychotes weddellii'') is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expeditions led by British sealing ...

s often haul out on the beach and

leopard seal The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). Its only natural predator is the orca. It feeds on a wide range of prey incl ...

s hunt offshore.

References

* {{Commons category, Antarctic Sound Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Landforms of Trinity Peninsula Landforms of the Joinville Island group Sounds of Graham Land